Jesse found a bunch of interesting cars including yet another pair of Metropolitans. This Metro might be a solid car under all the bird droppings. The engine has had a recent rebuild. The other is pink and isn’t covered in pigeon poop. These are listed on craigslist in Boise, Idaho. With an asking price of $7,000 they must be the most expensive pair. They appear original and complete.
This pink convertible has had some mechanical restoration and looks nice.
The pink one looks nice inside. A good cleaning might make this one look really nice.
The green one doesn’t look so bad inside either with a thicker layer of dust. There is that rusty patch where the paint is gone. A look under the hoods would have been nice. It might be easy to get these running and driving. The museum’s Metropolitan is reliable except for the brakes. They are currently being converted to disk brakes. If there is no major rust and the engines aren’t seized these might not be too difficult to get running and driving. The convertible looks to be in the best condition, but could you see yourself driving around in a pink and white convertible? What would you do with these?
My dad had one like this at his shop for years. It was a customer car that no one could find the parts to fix……….it must be easier these days……
$7000 seems kinda strong (unless I’m missing something). You almost couldn’t give these away back in the 90s. I had a 62 and a 57, both coupes and both solid and complete, the 57 ran and drove, anyhow all I could get for the pair back then was $700
This is the power of the internet!
Dunno what the final cost was but about a year or so before my dad was killed in an accident, he and his wife finally finished their Metro. Dad being 6’6″. Couldn’t get behind the wheel so Susan got to drive it whenever it rarely was driven. Dad said he felt like s circus clown getting into and out of the little car. They loved it and she still has it.
cattoo, sorry about your dad.
love these little nashs…..my mom had an American. similar to the nash, you had to tune the radio by ear when driving at night….no visible dial, nor was it backlit. mom practiced the old method of set it and forget it….
Back in the day you used to see these Metros fairly frequently for a low production vehicle. More than half of the owners I saw were women, and most of the time they seemed to be used to for shopping around town. I think they were probably chosen because they were small and easily maneuvered…and probably inexpensive too.
The car guys I used to hang out with back then were pretty unimpressed with them and wouldn’t take one as a gift. But the garage owners liked them. Their owners usually took good care of them and brought them in for regular servicing and repairs, just the kind of repeat customers a garage owner wants.
Most big car show ‘n shines I go to I see some, usually parked together in a row, always painted in bright colors. There might have been a black or grey Metro, but if so I haven’t seen it yet.
This pair might be a deal. The SCM Guide says the median prices paid recently for good ones were about $14K for hard tops and $18K for convertibles. Unless there’s something wrong with those numbers and parts are unobtanium, the $7K ask seems reasonable….altho there might not be many people in Boise who want two of them. This could be another sale that’s much better off on Ebay.
wasn’t there a joke when we were kids, something about aren’t you glad a horse cant fly. horse flies?
If I’m not mistaken, the trim on the bonnet/hood of the pink one indicates that it is the relatively rare Hudson-badged version on the Metropolitan. I think that trim
piece is a pricey bit of jewelry on the spares market.
A friend had one when we were 20 somethings after wrecking everything else he ever drove, if we were out cruising and saw the car parked at a bar we would stop and search out something to jam under the rear end housing to just lift the tires slightly, almost unnoticeabley, off the ground. then park at the other side of the lot and wait for Pete to come out , start the car put it in gear and go no place. After about 5 tries he’d slam the door and proceed to walk home, we’d stop and give him a ride and hear him complain about the car not moving… If I remember correctly the doors were interchangeable from side to side. Didnt it have a British built 4 cyl as an engine ?
Those little MG engines they had got really great gas mileage…..
As I remember, they were a modified Triumph or Harold engine, modified just enough that few parts interchange.
Actually, Dave, from the Series II on it was a B-series engine, generally sedan specification but the same basic engine used in all MGA’s and MGB’s.